Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day

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Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day Page 28

by Zuckerman, Peter

see also Abruzzi route; Cesen route; specific teams and people

  K2, 2008 disaster on, Base Camp of, 101–6, 109–15, 139, 140, 151, 207–10, 216, 240n

  departure from, 129

  departure preparations at, 124–27

  evacuations from, 210–13, 256n

  field hospital created at, 210

  Iso’s radioing of, 132

  on maps, 94, 98

  meetings at, 119, 122–23, 131

  Shaheen’s rescue and, 133, 134–35

  weather reported to, 119, 250n

  Wilco’s location and, 207–8

  K2, 2008 disaster on, Camp 4 of, 134, 142–46, 152, 169, 182, 185, 206, 208, 250n

  Chhiring’s return to, 183–84

  convergence of routes at, 119, 120, 121, 131

  Fredrik at, 143, 151

  lead team departure from, 122, 144–46

  on maps, 120, 121, 147, 162

  Ms. Go’s return to, 186–87

  Nick Rice’s failure to leave from, 146

  overcrowding at, 142–43

  Pasang’s return to, 178–80, 183, 253n

  photos taken from, 195, 253n, 254n, 255n

  Wilco’s location and, 207

  K2 summit, K2, 122, 142–46, 154–55, 157–60, 181, 185

  on maps, 120, 147, 162

  number of people to reach, 31, 77, 145, 155, 159

  overcrowding and, 142–43

  see also summits

  K3 (Broad Peak), 78, 87–88, 96, 133, 191

  K4 (Gasherbrum II), 78, 88, 96, 248n

  K32, 29

  Kanchenjunga, 16

  Kanjutis (Hunzas), 82

  Karakorum, 28–29, 36, 70, 82, 87, 95, 248n

  etymology of word, 28

  lack of margin of error in, 211–12

  on maps, xiv, 30, 94

  mountaineering incentives in, 109

  see also K2

  Karakorum (city), 28

  Karakorum Highway, 78, 94, 95, 214

  Karakorum Pass, 28

  Kashgar, 66

  Kashmir, 28, 29, 32, 36, 85

  Kasthamandap, 22

  katas (Buddhist offerings), 102

  Kathmandu, 20–23, 25, 26, 210, 216

  apocalypse feared in, 20–21

  Boudhanath stupa in, 22, 104, 105

  Chhiring’s arrival in, 20–21

  Chhiring’s return to, 219–20

  Chhiring’s townhouse in, 27

  in civil war, 53, 54

  documentary film crew in, 224

  earthquakes in, 21

  electrical problems in, 227

  Gauri Shankar summits seen from, 238n

  hippies in, 22

  Hotel de l’Annapurna in, 62–63, 221–22

  Little Tibet in, 22

  on maps, xiv, 10

  Marco’s meeting with Gamu Bhoteni in, 223

  as mountaineering launch pad, 22

  Narayanhity Palace in, 48–51, 242n

  origins of, 21–22

  Pasang in, 54–55, 57, 58, 60–63

  Phurbu in, 56

  pollution in, 21, 57

  Sherpa names in, 66

  Tenzing in, 74–75

  traffic in, 21, 57

  U.S. Embassy in, 21

  Ketaki Chester, Princess of Nepal, 50

  Kevlar helmets, 113

  Khamba, 244n

  Khampas, 66, 244n

  Kham region, 66, 244n

  Khan, Muhammad (Muhammad Sanap Akram), 122, 144, 250n

  Kharta, 10

  Kharta region, 70–71, 245n, 246n

  Khumbu region, 66, 172

  Khumbu Valley, 10, 17, 71, 76

  Khumjung, 71

  Khurdopin glacier, 90–91, 94

  Khuro (shield bearer), 79

  Khurpa Care, 100

  khurpas (low-altitude porters), 249n

  kidneys, 116, 163

  Kikuli (rescuer), 35

  Kila, 181

  Kim Hyo-gyeong, 159, 187

  Kim Jae-soo, 60–63, 122, 156, 159, 160, 163–65, 209

  gear of, 126–27

  at K2 Base Camp, 104–5

  Lahmu’s meeting with, 220–21

  late return of, 185–88

  running out of oxygen of, 163–64

  at tea party, 219

  Kitar (rescuer), 35

  Klinke, Chris, 208, 256n

  Knight, E. F., 83, 247n

  knives, 69, 76

  knots:

  Figure-8-on-a-bight, 164, 165, 170, 171

  rescues and, 196

  Koirala, Girija Prasad, 243n

  Kolon Sport, 60–61, 160, 209, 221, 224

  Korean language, 123, 219

  Korean team, see South Korean K2 Abruzzi Spur Flying Jump

  Krakauer, Jon, 42

  “Krakauer effect,” 42

  Kyirong (village), 68

  Kyirong clan, 68

  Lacedelli, Lino, 40, 155, 241n

  Lakpa Futi (Chhiring’s mother), 17, 172

  death of, 18, 44, 230

  Lama, Pasang, 10, 54–63, 70, 156–60, 223–25, 228–30

  in Base Camp, 208–9

  becomes a porter, 54, 58–60

  Chhiring’s rescue of, 162, 173–78, 257n

  civil war’s displacement of, 48, 54

  controversy surrounding Mrs. Go and, 243n–44n

  on definition of Sherpa, 68

  discrimination experienced by, 57, 63, 68

  education of, 56, 57, 58

  evacuation of, 210

  as family pariah, 221

  at Hotel de l’Annapurna, 62–63

  ice axe abandoned by, 165, 171, 173, 174, 223–24

  as “The Joker,” 54

  as “Little Pasang,” 55

  lucky ring of, 125

  Manaslu and, 221, 228–29

  name change of, 56–57

  oxygen given up by, 163–64

  oxygen prepared by, 143, 251n

  rope system created by, 162, 164–65

  in South Korean K2 Abruzzi Spur Flying Jump, 2–7, 60–63, 106, 115, 120, 122, 129, 143–46, 148, 156–59, 162, 163–65, 170–80, 183, 187, 210, 221, 253n

  stealing by, 59–60

  at tea party, 218

  Tsering met by, 203

  on weak climbers, 160

  Lama, Pasang Dawa, Wiessner and, 33–36, 239n, 240n

  Lama, Tsering (Chhiring Lama; Chhiring Bhote), 61, 253n

  Lama clan, 67

  lamas, 33, 56, 70

  of Chhiring, 2, 26, 27, 104, 124, 172

  climbing Everest and, 24

  death rites and, 18

  names and, 67

  sky burials and, 103

  Surra and, 69

  Lambert, Raymond, 245n

  languages, 68

  Ajak Bhote, 56, 122

  Balti, 29, 99, 122, 239n, 249n

  Chhiring’s knowledge of, 23

  English, 23, 114, 122, 123, 145, 215

  Nepali, 57, 122, 145, 224

  organizational issues and, 122–23, 145, 147, 153, 185

  porters and, 99

  Sherpa dialects and, 66

  Tibetan, 56, 239n

  Urdu, 122, 145, 219

  Wakhi, 87, 99, 110, 122, 248n

  Lashkar Khan, 210

  latrines, 99

  legends and myths, 14–16, 237n

  about Shah dynasty, 51–52

  about Shimshal, 79–81

  Wiessner’s fostering of, 35

  Lehman Brothers, 216

  Lhotse, Mount, 10, 60, 229–30

  Life, 84–85

  light, oxygen deprivation and, 201

  Liliwa, 98

  Little Tibet, 22

  liver, 163

  logistical meetings, 119, 122–23

  London, 216

  longevity, 15–16, 84

  Los Angeles International Airport, 222

  low-altitude porters (LAPS), 94, 96–100, 249n

  lungs, 116, 117, 130, 142, 163, 168, 182, 204

  acute vasospasm and, 163, 164

&nb
sp; avalanches and, 200, 201

  of Shaheen, 132, 133, 134

  Lung Ta (wind horse), 104

  Makalu, Mount, 10, 55, 69, 228–29

  Mallory, George, 70–71

  Manaslu, 220–21, 228–29

  mandarin oranges, 59

  Mandic, Dren, 114, 115, 126, 208, 213

  fall and death of, 147, 149–55, 251n

  Mantle, Mickey, 74

  mantras, 46, 103, 104, 113, 124, 144

  Maoists, in Nepal, 10, 52, 53–54, 60, 61

  Mao Zedong, 76

  maps:

  of Abruzzi and Cesen Routes, 120, 121

  approach to K2, 98

  Camp 4 to Summit, 147

  Karakorum, Himalaya, and Hindu Kush, xiv

  of Kashmir, 29

  Montgomerie’s sketch of K2, 30

  Rolwaling, Khumbu, and Arun regions of Nepal, 10

  Shimshal to K2, 94

  of Shimshal Valley, Pakistan, 78

  Summit to Camp 4, 162

  marriage, 68, 81–82, 126, 192, 229

  bride abduction and, 69

  honeymoons and, 5, 84–85

  intermarriage, 66, 70, 71, 73, 75

  Mars candy bars, 133

  martial law, 53

  Masherbrum, see K1

  Masood, Amir, 211–13

  matchlocks, 82

  Mazur, Dan, 253n

  McAleese, Mary, 216

  McDonnell, Gerard (Ger), 112–13, 115, 121, 123, 141, 188–90, 193–98

  attempted rescue of tangled climbers by, 162, 193–96, 254n, 255n

  death of, 162, 216

  Falvey’s documentary and, 224

  at K2 summit, 159, 216

  personal items of, 127

  route lost by, 5, 162, 180–83

  singing of, 5, 181

  McGuinness, Jamie, 105

  meat, 99, 106, 110, 245n

  Mecca, 97, 110

  media, 35, 40, 41, 43, 76

  Italian, 205, 222, 223

  K2 disaster and, 6, 215–16, 222

  Korean, 219

  murder of Shah family and, 243n

  non-Western focus in, 224, 257n

  Rice and, 222

  Wilco’s location and, 256n

  medical exams, 85

  medicine, see drugs

  Mehdi, Amir, 39, 41, 85, 241n

  Meherban, Abrar, 89, 214

  Meherban, Karim, 78, 88–91, 95–98, 109–11, 126, 197–98

  fall and death of, 162, 183, 213–14, 225, 226

  at K2 summit, 159

  memorial plate for, 209

  photos and, 183, 197, 253n

  and sound of avalanche, 200

  wandering off of, 5, 154, 162, 164, 165, 166, 170, 182–83

  weather prediction and, 118, 119, 136, 137

  Meherban, Parveen, 89, 90, 214, 225

  Meherban, Rahmin Ullah, 214, 225

  Meherban, Shadi, 90–91, 225, 226–27

  Meherban, Umbreen, 214

  memorial plates, 209–10

  merchants, from Xinjiang, 80–81

  Merseyside Himalayan Expedition, 238n

  Meru, Mount, 22

  Messner, Reinhold, 40, 61

  Météo-France, 137

  meteorologists, 115, 118–19, 136–37, 138

  Métis temp agency, 159

  Meyer, Eric, 43–47, 151, 153

  background of, 44

  on Camp 2 tents, 131

  at Camp 4, 144, 183–84, 187, 251n

  Chhiring’s return and, 183

  field hospital created by, 210

  at K2 Base Camp, 103, 104, 105, 114, 210

  medicine of, 114, 127, 131–32, 135, 139, 151, 183–84

  Shaheen treated by, 131–32

  military, U.S., 206

  Miracle Belay, 37

  Mirjana (Mandic’s girlfriend), 126

  Miyolangsangma, 16, 23–24, 25

  Modafinil, 184

  money:

  power of, 25

  see also wages and income

  Mongolia, Mongols, 14, 28, 66

  “Montanara, La” (song), 181

  Montgomerie, Thomas, 29, 30

  moon, 35, 154, 164

  Moorcroft, William, 28

  Moro, Simone, 87–88, 223, 248n

  Motivator, The, 146

  mountaineering, 70–71

  changes in spirit of, 41

  Chhiring’s worries about, 19–20

  expedition-style vs. alpine-style climbing and, 127–29

  K2 and, 1–7, 31–36

  Kathmandu as base for, 22

  Nepal civil war and, 54

  self-sufficiency and, 3

  mountaineering jobs, competition for, 69–72

  Mountain Madness, 42

  mountain sickness, acute, 117

  Mount Everest Summiters Club, 27

  mouth, Muslim view of, 110

  Muhammad, Prophet, 87, 108, 110

  Muhammad Nazim Khan, Mir, 84–85

  Munter hitch, 196

  murder:

  of Nepalese royal family, 48–52, 58, 242n, 243n

  by Safdar Ali, 83, 247n–48n

  Murph Goes to K2 (documentary), 46

  music, 5, 123, 126, 181

  Muslims, Islam, 36, 134, 239n, 245n

  beards and, 87

  conversion to, 79

  Danish satirizing of, 107–8

  food and, 99, 110, 126

  Ismaili, 98, 110

  mouth as viewed by, 110

  salat and, 97, 115

  in Tibet, 66

  see also Allah; Qur’an, Quranic law

  myths, see legends and myths

  names:

  Pasang’s changing of, 56–57

  of Sherpa, 66–68, 245n

  Nanga Parbat, 39, 72, 85, 228

  crystal palace of, 89, 248n

  German expeditions to, 19, 238n

  as “The Killer Mountain,” 89

  Nangpa La Pass, 71

  Narayanhity Palace, 48–51, 242n

  National Geographic Adventure, 6, 223

  National Park Service, U.S., 109

  nausea, 132, 133

  Nazir Sabir Expeditions, 86, 96

  Nehru, Jawaharlal, 74

  neoprene masks, 87

  Nepal:

  caps on climbing expeditions and, 108

  civil war in, 48, 52–54, 58, 60, 243n

  on collision course between continental plates, 12

  economy of, 21

  Maoists in, 10, 52, 53–54, 60, 61

  on maps, xiv, 10, 78

  mountaineering forbidden by, 71

  permits in, 249n

  problems with feudal system in, 52–53

  royal family murdered in, 48–52, 58, 242n, 243n

  Sherpa ancestors’ move to, 14

  Sherpa as percent of population of, 13, 237n

  sky burial in, 249n

  Tenzing’s Everest climb and, 74, 75

  Nepali language, 57, 122, 145, 224

  Nessa, Lars Flato, 159, 173, 254n

  emergency rope carried by, 252n

  photo taken by, 254n

  Rolf’s disappearance and death and, 168–69, 252n

  videotaping by, 166

  New Age movement, 21

  New York Times, 6, 41, 216, 246n

  New York Yankees, 74

  nicknames, 66–67

  Nirajan, Prince of Nepal, 50–51

  nitric oxide, 65, 117

  Norit Group, 160

  North Col, 145

  Northern Areas, 85

  North Pole, 32, 38, 114

  North Ridge, 61

  North-West Frontier Province, 226

  Norway, 25, 126, 222

  Norwegian K2 Expedition, see Bae, Rolf; Nessa, Lars Flato; Skog, Cecilie

  NOS3 gene, 164

  Oceana (steamer), 32

  offerings, 74, 102, 104, 124, 155

  Omaha Beach, D-Day at, 31

  Operation Everest II, 44

  opium, 31, 49, 242n

  Oppitz, Michael,
244n

  Outside, 6

  overcrowding, 142–43, 148, 155

  oxygen, 65, 117, 130, 142, 182, 201

  in the Death Zone, 116

  oxygen, bottled, 24, 61, 116, 118, 124, 126–29, 134, 143, 149, 188, 193

  alpine-style climbing and, 128

  cost of, 143, 251n

  expedition-style climbing and, 127, 129

  given to Marco, 204–5

  going without, 2, 25–26, 41, 43, 45, 77, 86, 128, 144, 149, 194, 205

  Italian expedition and, 39, 40, 241n

  at K2 summit, 159

  running out of, 163–64, 166

  oxygen deprivation, 1, 30, 37, 44, 118, 145, 170, 201–2

  Sherpa adaptation to, 64–65

  vision and, 201

  oxygen masks, 204–5, 241n, 246n

  Padova, ice cream parlor in, 117

  Pakistan, 16, 29, 40, 107–23, 159, 189, 191, 216

  creation of, 36, 85

  Fearless Five in, 95–96, 101, 210–15

  Hunza and, 85, 248n

  India’s border disputes with, 211

  and limits on K2 expeditions, 41, 45, 108

  on maps, xiv, 10, 78, 94

  porters from, 39, 96–101

  wages in, 99

  see also Shimshal; Shimshal Valley

  Paldorje clan, 103

  Paras, King of Nepal, 52

  Park Kyeong-hyo, 122, 123, 143, 159, 187

  Parliament, Nepal, 53

  Parvati (Gauri), 238n

  Passu, 78, 91, 94

  patricide, 83

  Patriot Extreme, 101

  Peak Freaks, 42

  Peary, Robert, 38

  “People’s War, The,” 53

  permits, 105, 108, 249n

  Petzl, 240n

  Phinsoo (rescuer), 35

  photographs, 74, 119, 197, 215, 241n, 246n, 254n

  of body remains, 110, 249n

  Hoselito’s, 125

  of Jumik, 196, 200, 205, 254n

  of Karim, 183, 197, 253n

  summit, 152, 160, 180

  Pius XII, Pope, 40

  Planic, Iso, 132, 149, 151–52, 154

  plates, memorial, 209–10

  politics, in Hunza, 86, 248n

  pollution, 21, 57

  polo, 80–81

  population:

  in Beding, 26, 239n

  in Hungung, 56, 243n

  in Kathmandu, 21

  in Rolwaling Valley, 16

  Sherpa as percent of, 13, 237n

  in Shimshal, 81, 86

  pork, 99

  portering, porters, 39, 41

  Chhiring and, 19, 20, 22–26

  equipment resold by, 99

  high-altitude (HAPs), see high-altitude porters

  insurance and, 100–101, 249n

  low-altitude (LAPS), 94, 96–100, 249n

  Pasang and, 54, 58–60

  Pem Phutar as, 19, 238n

  Ruttledge’s recruiting of, 71

  Tenzing and, 72

  types of provisions carried by, 96

  see also specific people

  potatoes, 16, 18, 58, 228, 237n

  Powers, Phil, 6

  Prati, Vincenzo, 216

  Pratt, Jonathan, 253n

  pressure breathing (positive end expiratory pressure; PEEP), 130

  Prithvi Narayan, King of Nepal, 51, 52

 

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